Porsche was the best brand and the 911 sports car was a segment leader in the new J.D. Power and Associates survey. / Anja Niedringhaus, AP

by Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

by Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

Porsche, Jaguar and Audi are the brands that seem to delight new buyers the most, says a new study released Wednesday by J.D. Power and Associates.

Porsche has led the U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout study, or APEAL, for 10 years. Basically, the study judges which models and brands that buyers find most gratifying and appealing in 77 categories. In the new survey, Hyundai is the top mainstream brand.

The results roughly mirror the way things turned out in J.D. Powers' far most closely watched survey, the Initial Quality Study, released earlier this year. Porsche won that one, too, and Jaguar was second. Hyundai, for the first time, scored tops in both surveys among non-premium brands.

Overall, the APEAL study's scores are virtually unchanged from a year ago. The average was 794 out of 1,000, a drop of a single point. The only category that showed significant change was fuel economy, up six points, mostly because gas prices dropped, J.D. Power says. Overall, recent owners sound unsatisfied with the gas mileage that there cars are getting.

"Despite improvements this year, fuel economy continues to be the lowest-scoring category in the study by a wide margin," says Renee Stephens, vice president for U.S. automotive at Power, in a statement.

When it comes to best showing in individual car segments, Dodge and Porsche do best. Porsche wins for 911, Boxster and Cayenne. Dodge wins for Challenger, Charger and Dart.